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Thursday, August 28, 2008

We have had a busy but fun summer. It feels like we've been all over the globe! (And we kind of have.)

First, we spent a week with Ryan's family, who live in Pocatello, ID. We took a trip up to their cabin in Sun Valley and spent several days biking, boating, eating way too much ice cream, and hanging out together. I was the first Nielson woman to mountain bike down "Baldy Mountain" with the boys! (I felt quite proud.) We had a great trip. I have the funnest in-laws!

Then, we journeyed down to El Salvador for a few weeks. As most of you know, Ry and I lived down there for three months right after we got married, volunteering in an orphanage for persons with disabilities. We have been lucky enough to return to see the kids every summer since, and we plan to keep returning for the rest of our lives. My little sister and her husband were living there for the summer, so it was a great experience to collaborate with them in planning activities, games, and projects for the kids. Some highlights included:

A "pirate scavenger hunt" around the orphanage, searching for buried treasure.

Super Hero Day!

Hunting for Big Foot...can you guess who that is?? Ryan "Sasquatch" Nielson!

We captured him!

Dental Hygiene Day--Ryan used some ideas from his dental school class on community outreach to come up with games to teach the kids how to care for their teeth. The dental school also donated a bunch of toothbrushes, which we gave out to the kids.

At the end of our visit, my dad and my other sister and her husband joined us at the orphanage. They got to meet the kids for the first time, after hearing stories about them for years. As a family, we put on some fun events, such as a Trash Bag Fashion Show! Then, as a family we spent just over a week touring El Salvador and Guatemala, spending time in some breathtakingly beautiful places, including the most heavenly hotel on earth, La Casa del Mundo on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Isn't it gorgeous??
After returning from our Central American adventure, I spent a week at a church camp for teenage girls. In spite of an epidemic of lice, girls sneaking out of the cabins in the middle of the night, and listening to dramatic sobbing over being hit in the head with a beach ball...I had a great time.
Needless to say, I was ready for some alone time with Ryan when I returned from camp! I had missed his birthday while I was at camp...so I surprised him and took him on a romantic, birthday get-a-way to a charming town in Canada called Niagara-on-the-Lake. We rode bikes, had a picnic, shopped, found a deserted beach at sunset, and stayed overnight at a cute B&B. It was a perfect birthday gift, if I do say so myself. :)
The fun's not over yet! This past week, my dad has been in town--visiting Buffalo for the first time! It was great to have him here, getting a "taste" of our new life. In addition to visiting the typical sites like Niagara Falls and Palmyra, he made his famous Cowboy Cookies with the Cookie Club. (He even got the boys to all wear aprons!)

Phew!! I'm exhausted just writing about all the excitement we've had this summer! As you can see, I've had more than my fair share of fun this summer, and I'm afraid I've gotten out of the habit of getting up at 5:30 a.m. and working 14 hour days. Next week is going to be a shock! I go back to school on Tuesday. :(

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Ryan is a dental student at State University of New York at Buffalo (most commonly known as UB, University at Buffalo). He loves it! Doesn't he look cute in his scrubs?

We love the neighbor kids! It is endearing how they call us "Mr. Ryan" and "Miss Rachel." When we first moved here, we started a "Cookie Club" with them . After a few months of making cookies at least once a week, I realized that my pants size was steadily increasing (I eat about 20 cookies whenever I bake), so I recommended that we become the "Carrot Club" instead. Since they weren't too keen on that idea, we've decided that the "Cookie Club" can engage in activities other than baking--so we've started doing crafts, games, and bike rides together. (Don't worry, we still make cookies now and then.)

I am teaching 11th and 12th grade English at a high school in a suburb of Buffalo--Orchard Park High School. Although it is so much work (You'll notice it's dark outside the window of my classroom, and I'm still there!), I love it.
One of our favorite things about life in Buffalo is that there are so many young student couples to hang out with. Many of them go to our church, so we've gotten to know them very well. Being so far away from family, it's been awesome to have a support system of friends. (The above photo was taken with one of our favorite couples, the Cardons, at a lake in the Adirondack Mountains!)

One of our favorite new friends in Buffalo is Deborah Tilley. She joined our church just over a year ago, and we have the priviledge of driving her to church each week. She cracks us up! In spite of physical limitations that resulted from an unexpected stroke several years ago, Deborah has the best attitude about life. The other day she told me, "Rachel, I'm too blessed to be stressed!" I need to make that statement my life motto and stop stressing out so much! Deb is an example to me!

As you can see, in spite of the infamously cold winters, WE LOVE BUFFALO!

I have been fighting the urge to join the blogging craze for quite some time now. Why? Well, first of all, Ryan and I don't have any kids, so why would anyone want to look at our blog? Isn't the entire purpose of blogs to post cute photos and stories of your kids for the grandparents and extended family?? (Let's face it, we are just not that cute.) Second, I don't feel like I have anything interesting to write about. My life generally consists of teaching, teaching, and more teaching, and Ryan's consists of studying, studying and more studying. Who would want to read about that? (Okay, I'll admit, I sometimes do have hilarious teaching stories...like the time a 16 year old boy told me that he "needed to go #2" when he asked to use the pass to go to the bathroom...he was totally sincere and serious...it was so awkward!) Third, as many of you know, I am a bit of a stress case, and I tend to overwhelm myself by "taking on too much;" so the thought of adding "update the blog" to my constant to-do-list really freaked me out. If I created a blog, I knew I would feel pressure to keep it updated--even if no one else ever read it or cared if it was up-to-date.

So why, in spite of these concerns, did I decide to start a blog? Well, this week, I've been working on a gift for my little sister: I used blurb.com to create a book of her blog, and it turned out so cute. As I flipped through it, the inspiration hit me! Instead of adding to my to-do-list, a blog would actually reduce my to-do-list!! No more guilt about not journaling, scrapbooking, or writing long letters to friends and family! Through a blog, I can do everything at once. HOORAY!

So that's why the Nielsons are joining the blogging community! I hope that, even though we are not as cute as a snoogy little baby, you will all enjoy what we post. (And please don't mention it if I don't update for months at a time...you can be sure I will already be stressed about that!) :)

THE LITTLE GAL

Lover of squishes from Mama, snuggles from Daddy, and tickles from Brother

Who feels content and smiley first thing in the morning

Who needs shoes that will actually stay on her kicking, wiggly feet

Who gives mega-watt grins that melt the heart

Who fears the raucous (but affectionate) smothering of her older brother

Who would like to see her aunties and grandparents more often

Resident of a comfy one-story home where she is the queen

THE LITTLE GUY

Lover of the Polar Express, all things sugar, and his "Baby Sister"

Who feels ecstatic when "chuffing" one of his beloved trains around the house

Who needsexplanations for everything, big and small

Who gives strangers a reason to smile with his friendly chatter

Who fears"spooky" shadows, scary scenes in movies, and toilets that flush by themselves

Who would like to see a friend come over to play every single day

Resident of a house covered in photos of him and his sister

RACH

Lover of conversationswith a kindred, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and Idaho sunsetsWho feels overwhelmingly happy when nibbling on one of her delicious childrenWho needs daily quiet time to thinkWho fears losing someone else whom she loves

Who givescare packages to her friends and love letters to her kids and RyanWho would like to see more openness, compassion, and individuality in the worldResident of a little house with cute daisy bushes in front

RY

Lover of ice cream, the night sky, and dance parties with his happy kidsWho feels glorious at the peak of an Idaho mountainWho needs alone time to just look at the ceiling when he gets home from workWho gives froyo gift certificates and sugar-free suckers to his dental patientsWho fears talking on the phone and settling for less than his potentialWho would like to see family cartrips in a minivan to explore the WestResident of Twin Falls, ID

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Favorite Quotes

"Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead...Trust God, and believe in good things to come." Jeffrey R. Holland

"I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility...he sees something divine in every other man and is endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful." John Ruskin

"God is the gardener here. He knows what He wants you to be." Hugh B. Brown

"You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

"In this life, we cannot do great things--only small things with great love." Mother Teresa"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing." Ben Franklin"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning." Gordon B. Hinckley

"A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race." Joseph Smith

"Come what may, and love it." Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are -- chaff and grain together -- certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away." George Eliot

"If I were sunk into the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all of the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I would not be discouraged, but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I should come out on the top of the heap." Joseph Smith

"After the bare requisites to living and reproducing,man wants most to leave some record of himself, a proof, perhaps, that he has really existed. He leaves his proof on wood, on stone, on the lives of other people." John Steinbeck

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our power to do is increased." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver

"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them. But do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight." Helen Keller